The fortress felt the change before anyone saw it.
A faint pressure moved through the stone halls like a quiet ripple through water. It passed along the walls, through the iron gates, and into the deeper corridors beneath the upper towers.
Demons paused where they stood.
Not because someone had ordered them to stop.
Because the realm itself had reacted.
In the upper corridor, Iruen felt the change the moment it reached him.
The seal pulsed once beneath his chest.
Not sharply like before.
This time the reaction was slower, steadier, like a heartbeat returning after a long pause.
Iruen stopped walking.
Nyxar noticed immediately.
"He returned," the attendant said.
Iruen did not ask how he knew.
The bond had already answered the question.
The heat beneath his ribs spread briefly before fading again.
"Yes," Iruen said quietly.
Nyxar tilted his head slightly, studying him.
"The reaction is different."
Iruen pressed his hand lightly against the mark on his chest.
